Inkjet technology is being adapted for use in automated liquid handling (ALH) systems for precisely dispensing minute volumes of liquids used in pharmaceutical and other laboratory or analytical applications. In one example ALH application under development, an inkjet drop ejector (commonly referred to as a “printhead”) is used to dispense a predetermined volume of liquid into small sampling reservoirs, called “wells”, in a well plate. A well plate may house an array of thousands of individual wells. It is desirable in such applications to precisely control the volume of liquid dispensed into each well. It is helpful in controlling the volume of liquid dispensed into each well to monitor some of the characteristics of the ejected drops such as, for example, drop count, drop velocity and drop volume.
The same part numbers designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures.